Jurrien Timber has been included in the Netherlands’ squad for the upcoming international break, despite only recently returning from injury.
The Netherlands released their squad for the September-October international break on Friday morning, and Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber has been named alongside his twin brother Quinten.
The response from Arsenal fans has been one of understandable concern. Timber has only played 45 minutes for the Gunners this season, having missed the first five games through injury, and he was left at home to rest during Tuesday’s League Cup match in Ipswich.
The fear is that he’ll now be overplayed on international duty, and potentially suffer a fresh injury setback.
The reality is that whether or not Timber’s call-up is a good thing or a bad thing depends almost entirely on how he’s used.
If Timber makes a couple of starts across the four games, and he isn’t forced to complete the full 90 minutes (assuming he’s not ready to do so), then it may well be a positive for Arsenal.
After a long lay-off, most players need some minutes to get up to speed, and to keep things ticking over.
Alternatively, if Timber features in all four games and is pushed to his physical limit, it will be a very bad thing for Arsenal. The Gunners would then probably need to use their own games to rest him.
It’s hard to say which outcome is more likely, given this is Xavi Hernandez’s very first international break in charge of the Netherlands. He’s yet to show us what he’ll be like as an international manager, and how much consideration he’ll give to club demands.
The Netherlands will face Germany (H, Sep. 24th), Serbia (A, Sep. 27th), Greece (A, Oct. 1st), and Serbia (H, Oct. 4th) in four Nations League matches over the break. So Timber faces potential face-offs with Kai Havertz and Christos Tzolis.
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